Genesis 15:1-6 Click here for the readingAs we heard yesterday, an extension of the covenant with Noah, God blesses Abram to be a blessing and now part of that blessing comes in the promise of being a blessing as a father of many nations....more than the stars in the sky.BUT.......I love that this reading ends with "He believed. He believed God!"There was lots for Abram to believe, at first he believes that this promised inheritance will be given away (to a mere servant of the house), he believes that he and Sarai will be barren and have no children. Yet God continues to unfold the promise of blessing in unexpected ways. And Abram believes. He believes God!We are so tempted to believe in lots of other things than God. We believe in the self fulfilling prophecies of self defeat. We beleive that we will remain the same as we are today (barren or otherwise). We believe that the world will remain the same war torn, broken place it always has been. We believe the words of politicians and rockstars, profiteers and football players, institutions and corporations, advertising and automation....but by faith we are able to believe, like Abram, that God's promise is bigger and better than we can imagine.This, of course, comes with some trepidation. Abram too was afraid. yet God speaks into his life with promise and presence....“Don’t be afraid, Abram. I’m your shield. Your reward will be grand!”Lord, thank your for being grander than our own visions for our lives. Continue to be our shield and give us your holy spirit to believe in greater things than we can believe on our own. - Amen